BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE

FACT BOOK
2002-2003

1.01ľHISTORY OF BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE

Compiled by Ann C. Turner, Archivist

The founding
of Brewton-Parker College is unique in that it was conceived in the mind
of one man, supported for a time by only one other man, and the location
determined by the cooperative efforts of the citizens of two small Georgia
communities.

Dr. John
Carter Brewton, pastor of the McRae Baptist Church from 1902 to 1905, was
a strong advocate of Christian education, and had long held a dream of
bringing this type of education to the children of South Georgia.He shared his dream with Baptists in the immediate
area and as a result, won early support from both the Telfair and Daniell
Baptist Associations.Brewton was
also able to enlist financial support from Mr. Charles B. Parker, a prominent
businessman in McRae, and together they worked to make the dream a reality.The
Telfair and Daniell Baptist Associations met in joint session in early
1904, and after prayerful deliberation, decided that the school would be
located in the community where the most support was received.Among
those submitting bids were McRae, Scotland, Vidalia and Mount Vernon-Ailey,
bidding together.The towns of
Mount Vernon and Ailey together submitted a winning bid of $15,000 and
15 acres of land.Mr. and Mrs.
David Fountain donated ten acres of land and Mr. Warren Crawley, an African-American
citizen, gave the other five acres.The
decision was made to name the new school Union Baptist Institute, to honor
the union of the two towns, as well as the union between the two Baptist
associations.

After the
charter was signed on April 28, 1904, a building contract was awarded to
George L. Adams of Ailey for the construction of a main building and two
dormitories.Soon after, a contract
was let for a dining hall.By early
summer of 1905, Union Baptist Institute was a reality.The buildings were nearly complete, Dr. Brewton was named President
of the institute, and faculty members were hired.On September 12, 1905, Union Baptist Institute formally opened
with an enrollment of 160 students and seven teachers, and offered a course
of education through high school.The
institute’s first year was successful beyond all expectations.Five additional teachers had to be hired,
and the enrollment reached 365.

In 1912,
Dr. Brewton asked the trustees to change the name of the school to Parker
Institute, in honor of Mr. Charles B. Parker.In
light of the efforts of Dr. Brewton, the trustees deemed it proper to change
the name of the school to Brewton-Parker Institute in honor of the two
men who had contributed most toward its establishment.On May 30, 1912, the name change became official.That
same year Dr. Brewton resigned as President of the institute.Under
his leadership, the school had grown from an idea to an established institution,
and it had survived despite limited financial resources.Dr.
Brewton stayed on at Brewton-Parker Institute as Professor of Bible and
as the school’s chief fundraiser.

The trustees
elected William Anderson Mulloy to replace Dr. Brewton in May 1912.Professor
Mulloy was ill when he accepted the presidency and was unable to continue
his administrative duties after August 1912.Dr.
Brewton resumed the presidency for the remainder of that school year.

The trustees
elected Ray Ernest Robertson as President in May 1913.By this time, Brewton-Parker Institute had
become the focus of cultural and social life in the Mount Vernon-Ailey
community.Concerts, recitals,
speeches, debates, and dramatic readings were often held on campus.Two literary societies were organized, the
“Pythians” and the “Damons.”The
school also had active athletic programs.

In May
1916, President Robertson resigned, and Brown Bunyan Smith assumed the
presidency.During his term the
United States entered World War I.The
war had a devastating effect on the school, but the female students were
able to keep the school open.President
Smith resigned in May 1918, and Dr. Brewton resumed the presidency for
the 1918-19 school term.

Dr. Brewton
was replaced by Linton Stephens Barrett in May 1919.During Barrett’s administration, Brewton-Parker
began to suffer from competition with state-supported high schools.He
asked the trustees to formulate a plan to make Brewton-Parker a junior
college, foreseeing the time when each town would have its own high school.Barrett
resigned as President in May 1922.Acting on the recommendation of Barrett, the trustees appointed
a committee to work out a plan to elevate the school to a junior college.They also appointed Albert Martin Gates to
succeed Barrett as President in June 1922.

In 1923,
the institution added a college freshman class to its sphere of instruction.Four
years later, a sophomore class was added, and Brewton-Parker Institute
became Brewton-Parker Junior College.In
1929, the elementary grades were dropped from the curriculum, leaving only
high school and junior college classes.During
Gates’ administration the school added two new buildings, a dining hall
and a library. A third building, a new boys’ dormitory, was
begun but not competed during his term.He
resigned as President in 1941.The
administration building was later named Gates Hall in his honor.

Robert
Lee Robinson served as President from 1941 to 1946.Again, because of war, enrollment declined.The original girls’ dormitory, Rawling-Garbutt
Hall, burned in 1945, and the girls were moved to the boys’ dormitory,
which had been named Denton Hall.The
boys were housed in the community until the new boys’ dormitory, Robinson
Hall, was complete.

In 1946,
Charles T. Ricks became the first alumnus to be named President.During his administration the school added
a new gymnasium and began work on a new girls’ dormitory to replace the
original.In 1948, all secondary instruction was dropped
from the school, leaving only junior college classes.In November of that same year, the Georgia
Baptist Convention voted to accept the offer of the 21 Baptist Associations
of southeast Georgia to transfer Brewton-Parker Junior College to the complete
ownership of the Georgia Baptist Convention.The
necessary legal action was completed by March 1949.In that same year, President Ricks resigned
and Melvin Palmer Campbell assumed the presidency.

During
President Campbell’s administration, the Student Co-op building and a lighted
athletic field were constructed.He
served until 1953, when Marion Archie Murray was elected President.

During
this time, the girls’ dormitory, which was begun during President Ricks’
administration, was finally completed and named McAllister Hall.The athletic field was named Murray Field
in honor of President Murray.His
administration was marked by the Relocation Controversy of 1954.The Georgia Baptist Convention considered
relocating Brewton-Parker and Truett-McConnell College to more populated
cities, but after much heated and emotional debate, the convention decided
to leave the two schools in their original locations.President Murray resigned in 1957.

J. Theodore
Phillips served as President from 1957 to 1979.Under Phillips’ leadership, new construction
included the H. Terry Parker Library, the Cook Science Building, the Phillips
Student Center, West Hall, and Gilder Hall, a new president’s home.Accreditation as a junior college was granted
by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1962.The off-campus Evening College, offering core
curriculum accredited courses, began in the late 1960’s.The original boys’ dormitory, Denton Hall,
burned in 1969.The enrollment
grew, and in 1978, the popular name of the school, Brewton-Parker College,
was officially adopted.

William
Starr Miller became President in 1979.During
his administration, the Miller Music Building was constructed, and enrollment
continued to accelerate.President
Miller conceived the plan for the college’s first baccalaureate degree,
the Bachelor of Ministry degree.In 1983, he resigned as President, but stayed
on as Coordinator of the Bachelor of Ministry Degree.

Y. Lynn
Holmes became the second alumnus to lead Brewton-Parker as President in
1983.He took Dr. Miller’s plan
and proceeded to put it into action.The
college received candidacy status for the four-year program in the 1984-85
academic year, and in June 1985, the college held commencement for its
first senior college class, with 22 graduates.On
December 9, 1986, with the approval of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools, Brewton-Parker College became a four-year institution.Dr. Holmes’ administration was one of unprecedented
growth.Enrollment doubled, growing
from 1,123 students in 1983 to an all-time record of 2,205 in 1993.During
this time, twenty-one campus facilities were constructed or renovated,
and land acquisitions ensured future growth for the campus, all accomplished
while the college remained virtually debt-free.He
resigned in 1997 following the Financial Aid crisis, and Starr Miller returned
as Interim President until June 1998.At
that time, the trustees elected David Robert Smith as President.

Brewton-Parker
College has been blessed with strong, dedicated leadership starting with
Dr. J.C. Brewton and continuing through the years.The
success of the college is due to the vision of the founders as expressed
by Dr. Brewton, “If civilization is to be saved and made better, it will
be through the leadership of saved, educated, Christ-loving, Christ-obeying,
Christ-serving men and women.This
is the world’s supreme need for today and tomorrow.”